Sunday, 6 November 2016

It was with a great deal of sadness that I heard recently of the death of Louis Connelly following a motor cycle crash in Peru. Louis was a student at the London College of Fashion when I wrote to him asking if he would photograph as part of my project. First of all, we met in the cafe at the Curzon Cinema in Shaftesbury Avenue where this photograph was taken. It really sums up his character so well; he had a lovely sunny disposition and a beautiful smile to match. The shoot took place on 5th December 2008 (he was the 32nd photographer to photograph me) at a studio in London and he brought along a make up artist and a style assistant who made me up as a biker. Louis took the photographs on a large format camera and they were wonderful. The shoot was great fun and one of his photographs subsequently appeared in the Guardian Weekend Magazine alongside a feature about my project. Louis was very proud of this.

We kept in touch on and off over the next seven years or so and I heard that he had photographed my niece, Naomi, who plays the cello. I never saw him again but the memory of that happy shoot shall stay with me forever. He was a lovely man and an extremely talented photographer who will not be forgotten by those who knew him.